ESPN overhauls ScoreCenter for iPhone, HBO Go adds Chromecast support

Two of cable television's heavyweight content providers pushed intriguing updates to their iOS apps on Thursday, as ESPN refreshed its popular ScoreCenter app and HBO added support for Chromecast wireless streaming to HBO Go.

From ScoreCenter to SportsCenter

Building on the app's already immense popularity, ESPN has given ScoreCenter a new name — SportsCenter, after the network's signature television franchise — and an updated focus around personalized news and information. Users can now receive push notifications when news breaks about their favorite teams, for instance, while a new Inbox section presents a personalized news feed.

Realtime stats and scoring have been overhauled, with enhanced social media sharing capabilities and quicker access to ESPN's live GameCast feature. The app's user interface also received a fresh coat of paint to fit more harmoniously with Apple's new iOS 7 design aesthetic.

SportsCenter is currently an iPhone-only app, and there has been no word from ESPN on when iPad users can expect a native version for Apple's tablet.

ESPN SportsCenter for iPhone is available as a free 18-megabyte download from the App Store today.

HBO Go meets Google

HBO's requirement that users of its web- and device-based HBO Go offering have a valid cable television subscription has long frustrated customers wishing to cut the cord, and that chorus is sure to grow louder now that the Boardwalk Empire network gives users another option for streaming from their mobile device to a television.

HBO Go version 2.4.0 adds support for Google's nascent Chromecast device, a small, $35 HDMI dongle similar to a stripped-down Apple TV that allows video and audio from supported applications to be streamed to users' televisions. HBO Go joins Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, and Google's own Play TV & Movies and YouTube on the device.

AppleInsiderreviewed Chromecast in August of this year and found it to be a promising effort from the search giant, but one still in need of several iterations' worth of refinement.

HBO Go for iPhone and iPad is available as a 26.9-megabyte download from the App Store today.

I've always hated that the SC app uses a 'cartoony' sound for the 'da da da, da da da' ESPN alert sound. Way back when they first debuted this on stage with Steve Jobs they used the real sounds from tv, but have never rolled it out to the app. Why the hell not?